Hello! I'm hoping to get some advice from a few makeup artists. I've been doing makeup for several years now but it's not my full time job so I don't get to practice enough on ways of cutting down my application time.

I run really slow! It takes me around 45 minutes to a basic beauty look (glamour, natural, elegant, ect.). Does anyone have any advice on how I can speed up the process and cut down my time to 30 min/person? Should I focus on dividing my time in 10 minute increments for skin, eyes, lips/touch-ups or something along those lines.

I find myself tweaking and perfecting things and that's what delays me!

LightFeatherRetouch wrote: I don't understand the point, why you need to be faster?

45 minutes is a good time... Fast enough so the model doesn't get bored and tired when it's time to shoot, but time enough to make a proper job.

Typical make-ups take between 45 minutes and 1:30. Sometimes more in case of very elaborated looks or extravagances...

I have never worked with a MUA that made it in less than 45 minutes.

Ok, that makes me feel better! I just always felt so much pressure to do full face application in 30 minutes from working at the MAC counter. A lot of my co-workers were quicker than me and it always made me feel like I wasn't efficient enough. I know it's just a sales rushing thing, but even a lot of my freelance friends are a bit faster than me.

45 minutes is me rushing! 60+ minutes is more like it. I have a bridal party tomorrow and only have 45 min/pp (60 for bride) and I'm a bit stressed on it. I can do it, but i'd just like to take more time! Thank you for your response.

45 minutes is a good time. The quickest I've done was 10 minute makeup faces for a commercial. But since it was for a commercial, the looks were extremely basic. And I airbrushed so it went faster. It wasn't extremely detailed beauty or glamour makeup.

I prefer to have that time so I can do my best and work in all the little details that makes pro work pro work

Dnt worry about it 45 mins...generally a pretty face takes me 20_25 minutes to do but Asians n picky client takes 35-45 mins but sometimes longer...but I've learned that the harder there eyes, go safer on the look and once u finish putting I liner n lashes then go back n add n adjust...it's the easiest way and u will find its most efficient. But the biggest thing is practice with talking and doing at the same time...dnt talk with those hands Ok...When u r looking for the next brush stop talking so u dnt get distracted n can't find the brushes....i do lots of wedding with my team so we have to be fast but not seemed rushed...that's y I understand u want to be faster...I've worked next to alot of MUA that r really slow n I see clients get frustrated so practice alot.....hope this helps

There are threads on this topic you can search and they have suggestions for speeding things up. If you aspire to do anything outside of weddings or would like to increase your clientele and business, you will need to speed up. On a commercial/editorial type set you will not have nearly that much time a lot of times.

Side note based on the above post: a professional artist should be able to complete a makeup in an efficient way REGARDLESS of the ethnicity or eye shape of the client/model/talent. I personally find it extremely offensive and unprofessional that you would posit the idea that certain ethnicities require "extra" time. And incidentally, all professionals will find it very difficult to gain clients if they cannot communicate in a professional, polished manner.

I think I know what you mean.
I spent a lot of time working on getting my time to a total face and hair down while I was in school at the Makeup Designory.
For me, a lot of it had to do with better organization, which my fellow student helped me out with a lot!

Makeup by Dani B wrote: There are threads on this topic you can search and they have suggestions for speeding things up. If you aspire to do anything outside of weddings or would like to increase your clientele and business, you will need to speed up. On a commercial/editorial type set you will not have nearly that much time a lot of times.

A couple of links were provided a couple of weeks ago. I'm new to the forum and probably wasn't using the proper words when searching haha. You're right, I'd definitely need to speed it up if I'm ever going to do anything outside of bridal and basic photo shoots. I was able to do that bridal party in 30-40 minutes per person. I was happy with that! Thank you for taking the time to respond.

Crystal craft wrote: For me, a lot of it had to do with better organization, which my fellow student helped me out with a lot!

I learned through the previous links posted in this thread that organization IS key! I'm going to get separate brush holder travel cups for each face; that way they're all separate and I can just move from one client to the next with a smooth transition. Another great tip I read was to create a custom bridal palette based on the final look decided by the bride in the consultation. That way my brain doesn't get too stimulated with 20 shadows in front of me, rather than just 4-6... same with blush choices.

I don't think it's about cutting things out as much as it is as previous mentioned staying organized, as well as being well practiced. Knowing your kit, knowing your products, knowing what looks good on what types of skin tones, etc.

IE: matching foundation used to take me 3-4 attempts. Now that I have been practicing for several years. It's second nature to read skin tones.

Being sure that I have all of my tools accessible, give myself ample time to set up so that I know where to find everything, making quick and confident makeup decisions help me stay on track.

This may be the most basic answer out of all of the thread but I hope this helps!